Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A41—WEARING APPAREL
  • A41D—OUTERWEAR; PROTECTIVE GARMENTS; ACCESSORIES
  • A41D13/00—Professional, industrial or sporting protective garments, e.g. surgeons' gowns or garments protecting against blows or punches
  • A41D13/015—Professional, industrial or sporting protective garments, e.g. surgeons' gowns or garments protecting against blows or punches with shock-absorbing means
  • A41D13/018—Professional, industrial or sporting protective garments, e.g. surgeons' gowns or garments protecting against blows or punches with shock-absorbing means inflatable automatically

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a garment which, in addition to protecting the trunk of a person's body from the normal climatic conditions (wind, rain, etc.), is also associated with an inflatable protective device or aitbag.
• an inflatable protective device or aitbag For some years now both research and development and industrial activities are being conducted, albeit on a small scale, with the aim of maximizing the protection, against knocks and violent impacts, of persons performing sporting and non-sporting activities which involve movement at high speed without a cockpit or other protective structure.
• the category of users at whom this research activity is directed is that of motorcyclists, including both those taking part in high-speed competitions and those performing journeys over more or less long distances on large or medium-size motorcycles.
• Articles of clothing equipped or associated with aitbags have thus appeared on the market, said aitbags being activated automatically when special sensors detect a potentially very dangerous risk in the event of impacts and/or particularly sudden braking.
• US-A-4,977,623 (De Marco) and EP-A- 1,315,427 (Dainese).
• US-A-4,977,623 discloses a series of articles of clothing accommodating various aitbags which are inflated when impact sensors detect a danger condition consisting in a deceleration which is greater than a predetermined threshold. Some sensors are arranged on the vehicle, for example on a motorcycle, and transmit the danger signal via radio waves to the aitbag inflation means. Other sensors of the same type are mounted in the same article of clothing and transmit the signal by means of electric leads. In the case of a jacket, inflation of the aitbags protects the trunk of the person wearing it.
• EP-A-1,315,427 describes an article of clothing consisting of an outer jacket made of textile material and a waistcoat made of flexible composite material and associated by means of a zip fastener with the inner side of the jacket in a position symmetrical with the spinal column of the person wearing said jacket.
• a first ai bag for protecting the back and two further front (right and left) airbags for protecting the two rows of ribs are joined to the waistcoat by means of stitches which are resistant to the pulling force following inflation.
• aitbags are arranged between the waistcoat and the jacket.
• the various parts which form the jacket are joined together by stitches which extend along lines different from those of the abovementioned zip fasteners and which break when subjected to a given pulling force.
• the airbag inflation means are controlled by an electronic control unit connected to various sensors by means of leads or optical fibres which are at least partially incorporated in the jacket and/ or in the waistcoat.
• This embodiment has the following drawbacks: - the article of clothing consists of two separate garments and is inevitably difficult to manufacture owing to the use of different materials and technologies; - the cost of the waistcoat is high owing to the complexity of the material from which it is made, especially if it also incorporates optical fibres and the like; - the jacket opens at the front in a central position so that the front aitbags are arranged laterally and therefore do not offer any protection to the central chest area (sternum) of the person in event of a frontal impact.
• FIG. 2 shows the same jacket in the closed condition, viewed from the front; - Fig. 3 shows the jacket according to Figs. 1 and 2, in the closed condition, viewed from the rear; - Fig. 4 shows the rear airbag associated with the jacket according to Figs. 1 to 3, viewed from the rear; - Fig. 5 shows the front airbag associated with the jacket according to Figs. 1 to 3, viewed from the rear; - Fig. 6 shows a belt which is associated with the jacket according to Figs. 1 to 3, viewed in the open condition and from the outside; - Fig. 7 shows a three quarters view, from the front and in a partially transparent manner, of the overall appearance of the jacket when both the aitbags according to Figs.
• a motorcyclists' jacket 10 is conventionally made of synthetic - for example polyamide or polyester-based - materials which are flexible and abrasion-resistant.
• the jacket 10 comprises, in addition to accessory parts or parts in any case of no relevance for the invention, two sleeves 11A and 11B provided with reinforcements 12, a collar 13 with a short central lowered neckline 14 which can be preferably closed by means of a zip fastener (not shown).
• the front opening 15 which moreover extends conventionally over the entire height of the jacket, is not straight and in a central position, namely along the central chest area of the person wearing the jacket, but is in a position offset along a line curved inwards towards the sleeve 11 A - see Fig. 2.
• the front opening 15 is also preferably able to be closed by means of a zip fastener (not shown).
• a first airbag 20 and a second airbag 30 are fixed to the inner side of the jacket 10. This fixing operation is performed, in the embodiment described and illustrated here, by means of respective stitches 25 and 35 which extend along the perimeter of the airbags 20 and 30. As can be seen in Fig.
• the first aitbag 20 has a perimeter which is substantially rectangular with a vertical side 21 aligned with one edge of the front opening 15 of the jacket 10, but with a V-shaped cut-out 22 along the upper side 23, at the lowered neckline 14 of the jacket 10, and an appended portion 26, which also has a substantially rectangular perimeter, extending from the other vertical side 24.
• the appended portion 26 accommodates a known pyrotechnic device 27 (for example such as that produced by Autoliv or TRW) for inflating the aitbag 20 when a serious risk condition is detected, as will be explained more clearly below.
• the horizontal amplitude of this airbag 20 is such that its second side 24 extends vertically from the joining point of the left-hand sleeve 1 IB.
• the second airbag 30 has substantially the perimeter of an isosceles trapezium.
• the bottom end 31 of the second airbag 30, which extends from the immediate vicinity of the second vertical side 24 of the first aitbag 20 to the other edge of the front opening 15, is bigger than the upper end 32, which extends along the collar 13 of the jacket 10; the sides 33 and 34 of the second aitbag 30 are curved outwardly, in the same manner as the front opening 15.
• a second pyrotechnic device 27a which is constructionally and functionally identical to the device 27 already mentioned, for performing inflation of the airbag 30. While the first airbag 20 protects the user's chest and abdomen, the second aitbag protects the user's back, being fixed (see Fig. 1) to the rear of the jacket 10.
• Fig. 6 shows a belt 60, which is made for example of plastic material, associated with the jacket 10. Said belt, in the embodiment described here, comprises a rectangular central element 62 connected, by means of two flexible strips 60a, to two lateral elements 64.
• the lateral elements 64 on the opposite side to the element 62, are tapered, terminating in an appendage 66 made of flexible material and comprising means 67 for closing the belt 60. These closing means may be made, for example, using two Velcro® strips.
• the central element 62 houses an electronic module 63 which receives and processes the risk and/or danger signals emitted by suitable sensors (not shown) situated on the jacket and/or on the vehicle and, if necessary, activates the pyrotechnic devices 27, 27a for inflation of the airbags 20 and 30.
• suitable sensors not shown
• the activation of the pyrotechnic devices 27, 27a by the electronic module requires the provision of suitable connecting cables (not shown). Said cables may consist, for example, of copper conductors, flat leads or the like and/ or optical fibres.
• the lateral elements 64 comprise seats 64a suitably shaped for supporting the pyrotechnic devices 27, 27a.
• the belt 60 see Figs. 1 and 7, is fixed over a part of its length along the inside of the jacket 10, for example, by means of stitching, so that it is positioned, when the jacket is closed, around the user's waist.
• the associated pyrotechnic devices 27, 27a are inserted into the seats 64a so that they are stably fixed there.
• the user In order to put on the jacket 10 correctly, the user must first fasten the belt 60 around his/her waist using the closing means 67 and then close the jacket 10 using - in this embodiment - the associated zip fastener.
• the jacket 10 (see Figs. 2 and 3) comprises, at the front and rear, flaps 70 covering the airbags 20 and 30. Said flaps, the edges 71 of which are shown in broken lines in Figs. 2 and 3, are releasably joined to the jacket 10, for example by means of Velcro® strips or stitches with a predefined breakage strength, arranged along the edges 71 of said flaps.
• Velcro® strips or stitches with a predefined breakage strength arranged along the edges 71 of said flaps.
• the front opening 15 may be provided on the left-hand side or the jacket 10 may be sleeveless.
• the airbags 20 and 30 both of them may have forms different from those shown and may be combined with the pyrotechnic devices 27, 27a in different positions.
• the belt 60 may be designed, while retaining the characteristic features described, in such a way as to surround the rider's chest.
• the characteristic features of the invention may clearly be applied to a garment which instead also covers the bottom part of the body, for example a suit.
• the embodiment described, the variants mentioned hereinabove and all the embodiments implying the inventive idea of the present invention are to be regarded as included within the scope of protection of the following claims.

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• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Physical Education & Sports Medicine (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Textile Engineering (AREA)
• Professional, Industrial, Or Sporting Protective Garments (AREA)
• Gloves (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=34611207

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (8)

Cited By (2)

Families Citing this family (24)

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• 2003
  • 2003-11-20 US US10/568,166 patent/US7921472B2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2003-11-20 AT AT03768113T patent/ATE400194T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2003-11-20 DE DE60322124T patent/DE60322124D1/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2003-11-20 EP EP03768113A patent/EP1615514B1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2003-11-20 CN CN2003801106817A patent/CN1878482B/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2003-11-20 JP JP2005510737A patent/JP4616172B2/ja not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2003-11-20 WO PCT/IT2003/000754 patent/WO2005048754A1/en not_active Ceased
  • 2003-11-20 AU AU2003292531A patent/AU2003292531B2/en not_active Ceased

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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